Latu opens up on his big challenge
LEILANI Latu says Tweed Heads are “riding the confidence train” – now it’s his turn to do the same.
The Gold Coast Titans recruit has not tasted NRL action since Round 3 but has made a point of setting a shining example for his Seagulls teammates while he pushes for a recall.
Latu scored in the second minute of Tweed’s 28-22 win over the Northern Pride yesterday to mark the first time since 2014 that the Piggabeen club has strung together five consecutive wins.
It also snapped a sevengame head-to-head streak the Pride had built up.
Latu praised the team’s effort and said he was working hard to address the challenge put to him by Titans coach Garth Brennan to not drift in and out of games.
“My coach has just been pretty blunt: It’s about doing the one-percenters right and staying in the game longer,” he told the Bulletin. Having moved on from the bitter pill of being axed, Latu is determined to win back his NRL spot and said he had found some good sounding boards that were helping his cause.
“For me, it’s just a confidence thing,” Latu said. “I’m a very harsh critic of myself … if I know I have played a bad game, I’ve sort of been prone to letting it stick with me into the next game and not being able to move on.
“But with the help of certain individuals, being able to talk about my problems, they have been a person to absorb all of that and give some positive feedback.
“I’m feeling good. I’m in a great place mentally and physically. The next step is obviously trying to get back into that first grade squad.”
Seagulls skipper Cheyne Whitelaw, again one of their best on ground, said the side’s willingness to scramble had been the backbone of an “ugly at times” win.
“We have built a culture now where no matter what, we will just get in and do a job for each other and I think that’s what got us away with the win,” he said.
“You’d have a look at the line where we’re defending, you’d have Leilani at centre, I’d be on the wing and you’ve got Braydo (McGrady) in the middle just because we’ve ended up scrambling.
“It didn’t matter where we were, we just got up off the 10 and did the job from where we had to. At one point we defended six or seven sets on our line.”